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Q: One of the stocks in my portfolio has doubled in value. Should I sell it now and buy another
attractive stock?

—G.A., Opelika, Ala.

A: If it has come to dominate your portfolio, making up a significant chunk of its value, then
consider selling at least some, so that you don’t have too many eggs in one basket. Even seemingly
terrific companies fall on hard times, and you don’t want too much of your money tied up in one
stock.

Next, instead of looking backward at the stock’s gain, look forward at what you can expect. Do
you believe it still has a lot of room to grow? If so, consider hanging on to all or some of your
shares. Many great long-term performers double repeatedly over the years.

If, though, after doing some research, you’re not so sure about it, you might sell some or all
of your shares, thereby locking in at least some gains.

Fool’s school: Society and the economy

Great investors, such as Warren Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger, don’t just read annual
reports or books on investing. Reading broadly can make you a better investor:

•
ThisWill Make You Smarter: New Scientific Concepts to Improve Your Thinking by John Brockman
(Harper Perennial, $16). Short concepts are presented by about 150 influential thinkers, covering
biology, technology, negotiation and more.

•
Bull!: A History of the Boom and Bust, 1982-2004 by Maggie Mahar (HarperBusiness, $18).
This accessible history of the modern American stock market chronicles how investors fall for
bubbles and get crushed by bear markets.

•
30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice From the Wisest Americans by Karl Pillemer
(Plume, $16). The product of interviews with more than 1,000 elderly Americans, this book offers,
among other things, terrific career, financial and relationship advice.

•
It’s Getting Better All the Time by Stephen Moore and Julian Simon (Cato Institute, $30).
Published in 2000 but still quite relevant, this book is a good reminder that, despite the
challenges we face, many aspects of modern life have been getting better over time.

•
Life Without Lawyers by Philip Howard (W.W. Norton, $16). Howard persuasively argues that
Americans’ obsession with suing everyone in sight has suffocated people’s ability to do what is
right. He offers a set of solutions, with laws that both protect society yet are flexible enough to
let people make reasonable decisions.

Of course, it’s also good to read companies’ annual reports and devour good investing books,
such as John Bogle’s
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing (Wiley, $23).

Foolish trivia

My history goes back to 1799 and features more than 1,200 predecessor institutions, such as
Manufacturers Hanover, Bank One, Chemical Bank, First Chicago and National Bank of Detroit. In
2008, I acquired Bear Stearns and much of Washington Mutual. My earliest incarnation was as the
Bank of the Manhattan Co., founded by Aaron Burr and involved in providing Manhattan with water via
wood pipes. I’m an international financial-services giant, with more than $2 trillion in assets. I
operate in more than

60 countries and employ more than a quarter of a million people. Who am I?

Last week’s trivia question: I began in 1939 as All-American Airways, transporting
airmail to western Pennsylvania and the Ohio Valley. I later morphed into Allegheny Airlines. I
operate more than 3,000 flights per day, employ more than 33,000 and have the world’s largest
Airbus fleet. I just merged with American Airlines; the new airline will be the world’s biggest by
number of passengers. Who am (or was) I?